The Grammys are coming up this Sunday, and while we've felt that this year is one of the best showings the rock and metal categories have had in a long time, not everyone agrees. In an interview with WRIF (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold has commented that him and the rest of the band will be skipping this year's award show for not televising the rock and metal categories, instead leaving them for the the pre-show online telecast. They are nominated for Best Rock Song for "The Stage," their first ever Grammy nomination.

"My whole thing was that metal… if you're getting the 'metal' award, they don't actually televise it, so no one sees it — it doesn't move the needle at all," Shadows says. "And I think that's what the Grammys have to get that right."

Examining metal as a whole, Shadows says, "When you look at metal, it's probably one of the healthiest genres when you look at it in a worldwide perspective — every single country listens to metal. And whether it's mainstream or not, it's irrelevant. People will watch your program if you're giving awards to bands that deserve it and it's actually on TV, and it helps those bands push the needle forward."

We spoke to Shadows for an interview this past December, where he told us he didn't feel that the Grammys were below him, and that he felt being nominated for the award was an achievement for the band.

"It’s a moment in time and it comes down to a bunch of academy voters, so who knows who that is exactly and who knows if everyone gets a fair shake at it. Metallica is a very popular band, the Foo Fighters are very popular. We’re just shocked that we got the nomination. We’re happy to be mentioned in the same breath in the mainstream press as those bands. To be recognized by the people that say, ‘Here’s rock ‘n’ roll and here’s what represents this year.’ To be nominated was special for us. I can call my grandparents and they know what that is and my parents know what the Grammys are and that’s kind of cool. We definitely don’t want to be one of those artists that downplay it and says, ‘We’re too cool for the Grammys,’ because we’re not. We’re just happy to be up there and be nominated with the big boys."